Ravings of a Misplaced Geordie

Monday, February 15, 2010

Ok so its been a while, but the past few months have been eventful to say the least, and to be honest I should really rename this blog, but Im not going to because I like the name. You see Im no longer a "Misplaced Geordie" I am back living in my home town of Newcastle upon Tyne, thing is I still feel Misplaced,it feels odd to feel like a stranger in your home town.

This blog started out to be all about food and for the most part it is, but I havent done much cooking lately and thats probably because I dont have my own kitchen right now. That will all change Im sure that I will one day be settled in a place I can call home, and be cooking up a storm.

I know this sounds depressing but there is a silver lining to all this, and that is I get to see my fabulous family who I have missed so much. It was amazing on Christmas Day, it was the first time I was able to have both my kids with me on Christmas day for nine years, and we had a ball. These kids my are my rock, so supportive and some how they always manage to say the right things and if I ever need them they are there. What more could a mother want.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

I am so lucky to have a bunch of great friends, and I don't mean friends that come and go but the kind if friends that you have all your life. The kind that are there for you all the way, and living here in the US meant leaving all my good friends behind (as well as my family but that's another story) in England, and they are a great bunch. But one day I was in the local post office and heard an English accent, and I was next in the line so I tapped this lady (who was the owner of the accent) on the shoulder and said "hello, its good to hear another English accent around here". And that's how I met one of my best friends. It wasn't that she was English it was more that we are on the same level and we have been firm friends ever since.

A few months ago she asked me to make her daughters wedding cake, I jumped at the chance but oh lord did I stress over it. I wanted to make it, but I was so terrified of not being able to pull it off I actually lost sleep over it. After all to let her down was not going to be an option.

Well this is what I made. Its a white vanilla cake with a white chocolate ganache butter cream, and white vanilla fondant. I made the roses from gumpaste.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Well tomorrow is the big day! Not mine of course, my stepdaughters! Its going to be lovely of that Im sure, the venue is a vineyard here in Oklahoma. It is however in the middle of no where. No where is a one horse town called Luther and it really only consists of the said viineyard and a gas station (cant beleive I say gas station these days instead garage). I am lucky enough to have been asked to make the grooms cake, though Im not sure why the groom has t have a cake of his. Does this mean that he doesnt get any of the wedding cake itself, and the bride doesnt get any of his cake. I dont know, Im not sure of the rules about that, its all greek to me. Anyway I was pleased to oblige.

In my previous post you will see that I made a cake for the bridal shower along the same theme as the grooms cake. This was requested by the bride,(so now its the brides cake?) I wanted to use homemade fondant, I followed the recipe to the letter, dont know what I did wrong but I now have two pounds of goo (tastes good though), that I dont know what to do with. I ended up using not so gooey fondant out of a box, even though the taste isnt as good as the homemade it was not like a scene from The Blob. It did however perform very well on the cake which is a red velevet cake with chocolate butter cream icing.

There was however a vey sad event this week ,one of our barn cats was run over and killed this week. Funny because I dont usually get too close to the cats but this one was special. She was called Jack and I miss her.

Monday, May 18, 2009

I would or perhaps should apologise for my laziness in keeping up this blog, but I have to do that so often its getting boring. I wont make excuses because they too get to sound a bit sad and pathetic.

"What have I been up to" I hear from the back of the room!! Well its wedding time in this family at the minute, my step daughter (she calls me evil for short)is getting married in June, and Saturday we had a wedding shower her and her fiance. It was held here at our home, and because of the weather having been so wet lately the place was looking like a tropical rain forest, which meant a lot of mowing weeding and planting of flowers at every break in the weather.

Then there was the cooking, I started making a cake on Thursday, and because the happy couple are geetting married in a vineyard I chose to make a cake that would have a wine type theme.

With having all the other food to make I didnt have to add more details as I would have loved to have done.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter to you all. Hope the Bunny was good to you and brought you all lots of chocolate eggs.

My Easter Sunday has been spent mostly baking, though I did also have to feed the horses and then deal the remains of a dead cat, and yes I cried the whole time I was doing it, (dealing with the cat that is) The cat was a stranger to us she must have been sick and just wandered in the barn to die, not the best way to start the day.

Getting that out of the way, I did enjoy the baking, it certainley lifted my mood. I started off with the bread setting the yeast to prove and puting the oven to heat, while I went up to the barn to do the previously mentioned jobs. I love making bread, its such a satisfying thing to do, especially on a cold rainy day like today. The whole process sends an aroma around the house, that is warm and comforting. And though most people think that making bread takes all day, Im here to tell you that it doesnt.

I also made cupcakes and by request by my beloved most of them were adorned with jelly beans (he is such a child) the rest were frosted with a smooth, creamy, rich, silky, decadent, (can you tell its one if my favourites) chocolate ganache.

I have continued with a cake decorating course and though it was fun to do, we did get to play with some really cool equipment. I really enjoyed the airbrush, though cake I decorated with,well all I can say about it is its bloody ugly.. I did take a picture if it and well I jsut cant bring myself to publish it on here. The ulgy cake was a theme cake, as requested by our instructor. She got us to carve a fish out of the cake then frost it, then came the airbrushing. Such fun but oh my its ugly, the one redeeming feature is that it looked pretty much the same as hers............ One day I will post the pic when my stomach and yours is strong enough to take it.

Friday, April 3, 2009

I have been busy and yes it sounds like excuses for not being a diligent blogger, so I thought I would show you what I have been up to. Well I have been taking a cake decorating class at our local tech colledge. Here is the latest creation, till looks very plain I know and yes I should have added more decorations on here but I got caried away with an airbrush. Its a great toy, I could have played all day with it. Anyway the main body of the cake was sprayed yellow and tough it not really visible on screen I airbrushed it again with a pearl lustre dust. Told you I was having a great time. I bet you all wish you could have played with one.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I know its been a while, but anyone knowing me, knows that am I really bad at keeping this up. You see lately my hsuband Bob has been travelling so not a lot of cooking here, I tend to live on leftovers (from when Bob is home) and make do with bowls of cereal while he is gone. I have though been looking and drooling over other peoples foodie blogs and it makes me ache for a proper meal. Thankfully Bob shall be home tomorrow and he has requested just good old fashioned roast chicken, something that is very satifying and so homey.

The weather here has been so strange lately, and yes its spring and yes I live in the middle of Tornadoe Alley, I really didnt expect the weather we have had in the past week. Saturday brought eight inches of snow. The snow didnt hang about long, though long enough for us to want to stay home and enjoy just not going anywere on Saturday. By Sunday the thaw was well underway. Monday it changed again, the temprature was in the 70s and was lovely till about 4pm, then it all changed again. I have never seen the sky quite this colour before. It was almost green, so strange.

The storm came in quickly, and it terrified our dogs, the small one especially, she shook till I thought she would fall to bits, poor thing theres nothing I can do to comfort her.

Today Im looking forward to Bob coming home tomorrow, and I want all house stuff done so that we can just have some time to relax together, he has been gone so much over the past month I feel as though I have hardly seen him, so I better get off my bum and get moving.

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About Me

Hello thanks for stopping by. I have recently returned to Newcastle from living in Stillwater Oklahoma.
I am a very famly oriented woman that loves to cook for her family and friends. I love music, especially when its live.
Im 52 divorced twice and I have two fabulous kids. I am currently unemployed a living with my sister and her husband.